forum "You say you're a soldier, but all I see is a slave."

Started March 01, 2020 by @Moriarty

tune

Zanna let out a snort at his comments. She complied and carefully removed his pants just enough that she could wrap up the wound. She wasted no time getting started on wrapping it up. All she was doing was wrapping it up and nothing more.

Day didn't do anything but grunt a little at the tenderness of his wound, remaining relatively silent otherwise. He didn't like the quiet; it made everything a hundred times more awkward for him. Then again, speaking could've made it even weirder for him, so he refrained. Not to mention, there could've been a chance he was annoyed that he felt uncomfortable in this situation and had missed the opportunity to make someone else uncomfortable, because he tended to enjoy the latter. He did cast one glance down at his leg, only to catch the sight of his bloodied wound right before she wrapped it. As much as he hated this currently, maybe it was for the best that he let her. It needed to be done, and he reasoned that he'd be better off letting her now rather than fighting a group of soldier-men over it later. Especially since they wouldn't bother being careful with his injuries at all.

Zanna finished wrapping the injury up in silence. She had nothing to say at that moment and once done she pulled his pants back up so he was covered once more. She took a deep breath as she stepped back, "There. You're all patched up for whenever we come back. I've got to go, but just eat something okay?"

She left on that note bothering to hear whatever sarcastic remark or thank you, if there would have even been one, Day had to say. Or whatever his name was.

Day watched her leave, though he didn't offer a thank you or remark. Maybe because he knew she wouldn't hear; maybe because he didn't feel obliged to. He didn't have anything to thank her for, anyway. She was just bandaging the wounds she inflicted on him. And she was only treating him so that he wouldn't get infected and die, because they still needed to torture him more.
But his eyes followed her as she left, and he sighed once she was gone. Since he didn't have any better options, he decided to try to get some sleep. Maybe he could rest for a few hours– at least until whoever came to try to convince him to eat.
He still didn't intend to.

A few hours passed– presumably boring for Zanna, and irritating or discomforting for Day– before Thomas approached the former again, walking at a brisk pace.
"Storm. There has been an incident with Day," he announced abruptly. "Earlier, after you left, we sent some men to check in on him and try to feed him. He attacked them. None of them suffered from severe injuries, because he's too injured to be much of a threat– and restrained, at that– but they said he was harder to deal with than you'd expect, considering his current state. They also said he got violent quite suddenly and lashed out at them like a rabid animal. He also threatened them, but they wouldn't tell me exactly what he said." Thomas sighed a little, rubbing his temple. "Now they're all shook up. They shouldn't be; he's harmless in this condition. But they don't want to go back down there, and the superiors said we are still not allowed to kill him. They have other plans."

Zanna had been in the middle of a work out punching one of the bags in the gym area. She stopped, sighed and pinched the area above the bridge of her nose as she heard Ward speak. Day just had to go and do that, didn't he? She looked to Ward unwrapping her hands from the bandages that had prevented her from hurting her knuckles too bad, "Well that's just great. If they don't want to go down, then I'll do it. It'll work better for my plans anyway, can you check with the superiors to see if that's fine with them?"

"Of course. I give you permission to do so for now, anyways, but I will consult with them for you to do it on a regular basis." Thomas drew in a long breath before exhaling it again. "I think it's probably best that we keep most of the other soldiers away from him, all things considered. I may have temporarily forgotten what a threat he really is." It was hard for him to keep that in mind when Day was a prisoner at their total mercy. "They still fear him. They watched a lot of people fall by the hands of those under him, so I don't necessarily blame them. But I think only you and I should interact with him for awhile– at least until some of the other soldiers calm down. The war is still too fresh in their minds. Not too mention, we can easily handle him and put him back in his place if he gets any ideas. Even if he's hurt, Day's a ruthless individual, and I don't want to risk any rookies or naive soldiers who happen to underestimate him."

Zanna nodded understanding the line of thought her commander went through. She used her towel to soak up the sweat that lingered on her hair and neck before slipping on her electric gloves. It would be better to go now than to go at a later point in time, "Of course. The war's supposed to be over and Day holds no power, at least he won't soon enough," You're lying to yourself again, "I'll head down there now with a new tray of food to try and get him to eat something. I'll see you down there soon I assume."

"Yes, you will," Thomas replied with a nod. "I'll be going to speak to our superiors about you taking complete control over Day's supervision first, but you can go ahead and make your way down there. I'll meet you in a bit." With that, he turned on his heel and briskly walked off.

Zanna made her way to the kitchen to get Day's food. The cooks weren't pleased with having to make more food, but at least the did it. She walked down to where Day's cell was hoping that Ward would take his sweet time with the superiors. She unlocked the door and stepped in not caring about the state Day was in, "I thought I told you to eat the food, not scare the basically children into insanity."

"First of all," Day began from his spot on the bed, "You're not my mother, so I don't have to eat anything if I don't want to. Second, those 'children' tried to force me to eat food. They asked for it." He sniffed once, sitting up to the best of his ability, though he was clearly still in a lot of pain. They hadn't bothered to restrain him nearly as much– because they had likely not wanted to get near him again. The cell doors had been locked, of course, but his only restraint otherwise was the chain attached to his collar, which was secured onto the wall. That gave him free range of most of the cell, though not much else. Er– it would've, if he had his other leg had been in tact. His muzzle had actually been removed and was lying on the floor beside the bed, and Day was probably glad to have that stupid thing off. He glared at the food in her hand, frowning. "And I'm still not interested in eating, if you think you're going to have any better luck than they did."

Zanna balanced the tray on her arm as she cranked up her glove to a low voltage. She let the palm of it spark once as she gave him a dead look. those imbeciles gave Day such free-range if he could actually move that far. She put the tray back in her hands and made her way over to him, "I do think I will. One, you don't scare me. Two, I can shock you into unconsciousness and force-feed you from there. Three, yeah they probably asked for it. So how are we going to do this Day? Are you going to eat or am I going to make you eat?"

Day glared at her for a moment, as if he was trying to determine whether or not she was bluffing. She didn't look like she was bluffing, but she wasn't really about to force-feed him.
Was she?
He snorted a little. "You know, if you just let me starve, this would be a lot easier for the both of us. It'd be a win-win situation. You want me dead, and I do, too. Once I'm dead, I'll be out of your hair, and you won't have to waste time dealing with me– or this stupid war– ever again. And, technically, it wouldn't be your fault, because I'm choosing not to eat. So let me be. Bring food. Leave it here. Give me the option. I'll choose myself, and then we both get what we want. How's that sound?"

Zanna paused for a moment. There was hardly an ounce of her old ruthless self yet, it had all been taken over by her heart and the softness that came with it. Leave him the option, sure. He would choose not to eat. But Zanna, well Zanna didn't want him to die anymore. Not because she didn't think he was a monster, no she definitely thought that but because she didn't think he deserved to die in this situation. She let out a sigh and muttered mainly to herself, "It would sound great if I actually wanted you to die." She cleared her throat and spoke louder, "Every three days you eat and I'll give you the choice the rest of the days. How does that sound as a compromise?"

"Well then that defeats the purpose," Day responded dully. "If I eat every three days, then all I'm doing by not-eating is torturing myself. And that's just dumb. I wouldn't wanna do that for no reason. No. If I'm gonna eat enough to keep myself alive, I might as well have a buffet and eat all the dang time." He huffed a little, probably more from soreness than irritation. "No deal."

"Then I'll force-feed you every day," Zanna responded moving closer to where Day was with the tray. She was dealing with a child. An actual child. Not the monster he had been made out to be. She let out a long sigh, "Is that how we want to do this? Because you'll need your strength if you're going to last here. And you know that."

Day drew in a long breath, then exhaled sharply. "I'm not eating," he insisted, though she was making him nervous just by coming closer to him. But she was bluffing. She had to be. And even if she wasn't, he didn't plan on backing down. "I don't want to last here. Why would I?" Living every day for no purpose aside to be tortured didn't sound very fun to him– and, even in the unlikely event he did make his way out of here, he didn't really have a meaning to live anymore beyond these prison walls, either. That's why he'd been living in a basement drinking alcohol for the past six months. His purpose died with the Reformers, as far as he was currently concerned. He had nothing else to live for.

"Because maybe you're little, speech, earlier changed my mind," Zanna responded her voice barely reaching a whisper. Day could hear her, but no one else really could. Finally, something true slipped out her lips. Finally admitting the truth she had been struggling with for some time now. She grabbed the food and one of the utensils getting ready to feed him, "And maybe I want to help you get out of here, because no one, not even you, deserves what you're being put through. And if you actually eat then it'll make my job later a heck of a lot easier ya know?"

"–What?" Every bit of emotion in Day's expression disappeared, except for maybe a bit of surprise. He stared at her blankly for several long seconds, trying to read her. Lying. She had to be lying. She obviously didn't trust him. No one did.
As much as he'd like to believe his words got to her, she was a soldier– devoted to her cause. She wouldn't defect just because she felt sorry for him. He was her enemy. A monster. She couldn't…
"No. I don't believe you," he responded, though quieter than he'd been seconds before, as if he too were aware of possibly being overheard. "Why would you help me? You said yourself that you wanted me dead."

"I wanted you dead," Zanna quietly corrected him. She hated how she was openly admitting her new found weakness to the monster that helped make it. She wished she was lying, but she was finally telling thr truth. Maybe all her years serving the military had been waring her down and it was Day's words that finally burst the dam. Or maybe she had always known and Day just confirmes her inner suspicions. She didn't know and frankly didn't care. She let out a shaky breath as her voice shook though the fire never went out, "Now every torture session makes my stomach churn. I didn't give control to Ward becuase I thought he would want a crack at you, it was because I needed a break from hurting you. Think what you will, but you, Absalom Day, were the one that finally changed my mind on the government."

"Hm." Day took this in for a moment before a bit of a smirk tugged at his mouth. Maybe she was lying, but if she was, he didn't have much to lose, and she didn't have much of a purpose to lie. That said, she seemed to be pretty honest about it. He believed her. "Well, then. Good to see you've come to your senses. I was right in assuming that maybe there was hope for you yet." He had been quite convinced that this place would be his tomb when he set foot through the door. Maybe it still would be, but maybe now there was a chance it wouldn't.
A small chance, but a chance.
"We'll talk about this more later, but for now, I think I ought to have dinner."

The sound of the door opening down the hall reverberated off of the walls, giving them a warning that Thomas Ward heading their way. He hadn't overheard their conversation, but he would undoubtedly be within hearing range in a matter of seconds.

Zanna shoved the food tray at him wiping all traves of the growing grin on her face as she stayed close. She seemed to morph back into the person her commander thought she was in mere seconds. Her face wound up in a scowl as she looked at Day. Though it held a bit less weight as Ward hadn't entered yet letting Day know this was her acting. Lying. Decieiving. Not the conversation they had just had, "Glad you finally decided to be productive, Day, and listen. Now eat your meal and we can get started again." Her stomach churned once more with those words, but she needed to say them to sell the act.

Day was possibly the master of acting– either that, or he was just insane enough to be good at it. The latter probably rang true. Nonetheless, his expression changed immediately into an annoyed glower, his brows lowering slightly as he snorted indignantly. Day snatched the food tray, ignoring the pain that this sharp movement caused him. "Don't expect this to be a regular occurrence," he snapped, jabbing one of the utensils into the food with unnecessary force. "I'm just not in the mood to fight with you today."

Thomas appeared in the doorway of the cell, stepping inside. "Storm, you are now officially over the care and punishment of Absalom Day until further notice," he announced.

Day– although probably more than happy with this announcement on the inside– only looked angrier, clenching his fork in his fist and letting out another irritated snort. "Why don't you people just kill me already?"

Thomas ignored Day altogether. "And I see you've gotten him to eat. That's good. I'm sure this new arrangement will work out much better than the previous."

Zanna gave Ward a nod hearing the news. She let out an internal sigh of relief since now it was much easier to plan and discuss since she would be with Day more than just torture sessions with Ward. She shot Day a glare with a slight smirk, "I'm positive it will. Once he finishes shall we continue what we started this morning? But don't think of this as a reason to eat slower."